Another…

I was in the Rejang Park area the other morning as I was helping Melissa’s housemate to pay the electricity and water bills for her house in Sibu. That is another problem that they face teaching in a rural school – they can only come back on weekends when all the collection centres would be closed plus the bills always come so late – just a few days to the expiry dates (especially those from Telekom Malaysia – at times, the bill even arrives past the due date for payment) so it may be difficult for them to meet the deadline. They may be able to make it before the offices close on Friday afternoons but that would be quite a rush really.

After having settled what I had to do, I decided to drop by here to try their kampua noodles (RM2.50)…

I’ve had their fried kway teow before and I thought it was pretty good – among the best in town, I must say. This is not a very big area of shops but there are more than half a dozen kampua stalls, some  of which I have tried…but not this one and a few of the others as well. I thought this one was all right – not the best here and definitely not the best in town. However, I did like it a lot more when I’ve tossed the minced meat with the noodles as I could sense a hint of garlic – probably they used that in cooking the meat and that brought it to a whole new level.

I wasn’t all that thrilled by the one next door when I had it a long time ago – my favourite around here is still the one here while this place was not too bad either. I don’t mind the one here either but it was their coffee that was the main attraction but since the guy left, it had gone downhill and I, for one, would not bother to drop by there anymore. My friend, Philip, who is currently home from the US, went and tried the one here and he said it was just so-so – not one that would get him rushing back for more. I do recall having the one in the same shop as this stall as well a long time ago, probably before I even started blogging, but I cannot remember whether it was any good or not. All in all, I would say that most would be good enough if you’re in the vicinity and would like to stop by some place for a bite to eat but I would not make my way there on purpose for any of those that I have tried.

I also tried the mixed soup (RM3.50)…

,,,which, like the kampua noodles, was, at best, not too bad. There was quite a bit of liver and intestines inside…and other than those, they also had some fish falls, deep-fried and tau kua (bean curd cake) and some green vegetables. I wished they had some mined meat balls but there wasn’t any – all the minced meat they had in the soup was in the tau kua…

Incidentally, if ever you’re in Sibu, you may notice that when you go and eat at the shops, they will bring you your spoon and chopsticks or your fork and spoon in a mug or cup of hot boiling water. If I’m not wrong, this is a ruling laid down by the municipal council in an effort to ensure cleanliness at all eateries in town but I do get quite worried when they use those plastic ones as there may be some adverse effects resulting from the reaction of the heat in the water with the plastic. In this particular shop, everything is in a basket, all ready for use and once you’re seated, they will bring you the hot boiling water in a mug and all you would have to do would be to pick what you would want to use to eat and dip them in the mug yourself…

I would not know how far this is effective but it is good that at least, some people are trying to do something for the good of all and everyone should give their full support and cooperation.